This invention relates to towing of vehicles, in particular towing of trailers, and more specifically to towing of semitrailers. It also relates to truck bodies, more specifically to removable and interchangeable truck bodies, and still more specifically to xe2x80x9chook liftxe2x80x9d, cable hoist, and chain hoist xe2x80x9croll-offxe2x80x9d loaders, and other specific types of trucks constructed to handle such bodies.
Relevant background in the field of trailer towing is as follows: A tractor for pulling semitrailers is commonly equipped rearwardly with a support bearing called a xe2x80x9cfifth wheelxe2x80x9d, which engages a pin called a xe2x80x9ckingpinxe2x80x9d on the forward end of the trailer. When so engaged, the tractor-trailer combination comprises an articulating vehicle in which the trailer can rotate about a vertical axis relative to the tractor.
Trailers can be towed in similar fashion using other mating bearing combinations such as ball hitches. Ease of hitching and unhitching trailers is an important factor for logistical reasons in the design of tractors, trailers, and hitching mechanisms.
Background in the other related field is as follows: In the handling of bulk materials such as solid waste, it is common to use so-called xe2x80x9croll-offxe2x80x9d containers to collect and transport the materials. These containers, called xe2x80x9cbodiesxe2x80x9d, come in various shapes and capacities and are adapted to be loaded onto and transported by shuttle trucks specially configured to load and unload them. Some roll-off bodies are more specialized, such as a flat bed for carrying earth-moving machinery. There are various types of shuttle trucks for handling roll-off containers. A hoist roll-off shuttle of the cable or chain variety comprises a chassis with a hydraulic lift bed, a winch, and a cable or chain. The bed comprises rollers to enable roll-off bodies to be winched onto and off of the bed. The hook lift truck also comprises a chassis with a hydraulic lift bed, but instead of a winch, it uses a hydraulically-articulated arm and hook to grasp a hook lift body and pull it onto or lower it from the bed.
The present invention relates these two fields in a novel way as summarized below.
The present invention is a removable, e.g., hook lift, body for a shuttle truck, which has been specially constructed to comprise a trailer-towing bearing such as a fifth wheel or a hitch ball. Such construction further comprises means for securely fastening the body to the shuttle so as to maintain the body in rigidly fixed relation to the chassis of the shuttle at all times. The virtue of such a body is that it enables roll-off shuttles to be used temporarily as tractors for semitrailers. This has the potential to reduce or eliminate the need for owning and maintaining dedicated tractors for semitrailers. Conversely, it can expand the capabilities of a fleet of roll-off shuttle vehicles to include trailer towing.
It is therefore a primary object of this invention to provide new means for towing trailers. It is a further object of this invention to provide a method of manufacturing or modifying roll-off shuttle beds for the secure installation and placement of such means. It is yet another object of this invention to provide a method of installing such means on such shuttle beds. Other objects of this invention are to expand the uses for roll-off shuttle trucks and to reduce the overall capital and maintenance costs for truck fleets.